Epic Journey The Legend of Lardinia

Haylie's life changes when she is transported to the magical world of Lardinia, she must dig deep and muster all of her courage in order to defeat the evil warlock Merdock. With the help of enchantress Elera and a myterious beast tamer known as Ringmore Rider, Haylie journeys through the many lands of Lardinia gathering an army to help her fulfil the prophesy and destroy the evil lord Merdock. Courage is your greatest weapon.
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Chapters:

"Well he rules over the city of Palistare, but he is not king:
his father fell ill over a decade ago and he will not relinquish
complete control over his lands to his son until he has passed
on. So when you meet the prince he may not be, well let's just
say, he will need a lot of convincing to send his army away to
war.

"Oh well he sounds charming!" She said sarcastically, "get it?
Prince Charming!"

They rode long and hard to reach Palistare by the end of the
day, and by the time they arrived both horses and riders were
worn out and in need of a hearty meal and a good rest. The city
gates loomed over them as they entered the city; they dismounted
and led the horses up the main street towards the castle of
Palistare. The streets were busy with life; people bustling
around going about their daily lives, Haylie took in a deep
breath and took in all the scents and sounds of the busy market.
On the other side of the street Haylie noticed a young girl, her
long blonde hair tied back off her face in braids, was being
towed along by her mother around the grocery stalls. Haylie's
mind raced home to her family and her own mother and how she
would drag her around the supermarket as a young girl, she was so
lost in her daydream that she Didn't't even notice Ringmore
yelling at her attempting to prise Garrano's rains from her hands
so that he could leave both their horses in the stables outside
the castle.

They made their way up the winding stone steps towards the
huge oak doors at the foot of the castle; the doors were covered
in swirly silver patterns like enormous trees, and laid in
amongst the patterns were scenes of wolves howling at the moon.

"Palistare is also known as the land of the wolf lords" Ringmore
informed Haylie when he saw the slightly puzzled look on her
face. Ringmore pushed the heavy doors open wide to reveal a long
dark hall lit by candles and glowing fires that lined the walls,
filling the hall with a thick hot air that seemed welcoming and
repulsive at the same time.

They strode into the large high ceilinged room and stopped
in the center of the hall, all eyes around the room glaring at
them as if they were on trial. Suddenly a door near the far end
of the room crashed open and through it came a shouting man who
seemed very angry with a small, frail old gentleman who was
running after him.

"NO Petimie. I will not allow you to graze your cattle around my
city, what will my farmers' cattle eat if yours graze on the
pastures surrounding MY city" He stopped yelling abruptly when
his eyes met the visitors standing in his hall, "listen to me he
whispered to the old man, "you take your business else where or I
will have you removed from these lands do you understand?" The
old man glanced over to Haylie and Ringmore then back to the
Prince.

"Your father always found a way to make room for everyone"

"Well my father is not in charge so get out now before I have you
removed" there was a moment when the old man and Prince Valman
stared at each other, both weighing up their options and
attempting to gain the power hanging in the balance, Finally the
contest was broken by the old man who turned away towards the
large oak doors, but before the man left he whispered to Valman,

"They're not your lands yet Valman, and you are not the king" at
which point he stormed along the hall and out through the doors,
throwing them aside with some difficulty.

"I am sorry about that outburst, I was dealing with an unwanted
visitor" Valman glanced over to Haylie, "but you are most welcome
here" he picked up her hand and gently kissed the top of it.
"Might I enquire as to your names, please?"

"I am Ringmore rider and this is my companion Haylie"

"And what brings such distinguished people to my fine city?"

"We need your help sire" Haylie answered nervously, her cheeks
had gone a rosy pink after he had kissed her hand.

"My help, of course, what can I do for you both?" He asked, his
eyes still on Haylie, staring dreamily into her emerald eyes.

"Well we have been sent here to convince you to gather your full
military strength, march to Esiris with us and meet the great
Morgantian army in battle, have I missed anything?" Ringmore
stated demandingly.

"Let me stop you there. You come into my city and I have the
courtesy to listen to what you have to say, you begin by telling
me what to do, and you inform me that I am to send my army to war
for you. Well I am telling you now Ringmore Rider, I am not
willing to send my men to die for you and your lost cause; it
would be like sending pigs to the slaughter house." There was a
long tense pause before Valman decided what to say next, "you may
spend the night, but tomorrow I suggest you take your troubles
elsewhere, I cannot get involved with Merdocks war against the
rest of Lardinia"

"But you have to help us, you're a part of this world to aren't
you?" Haylie said panicking

"Come Hay there's nothing to be gained here" Ringmore said with a
disappointed and disgusted look on his face which he directed
menacingly at Valman.

That night while the rest of the castle was sleeping, Prince
Valman went to his father's room and sat by his bedside, the king
had been in his grand four poster for more than twelve years, too
sick to move, too ill to rule.

"Father, father I must speak with you urgently" Valman spoke
softly to his frail father.

"What is it my son?" He replied wearily, awakening from a deep
and dreamless sleep.

"I was approached today by two people today"

"Yes, well what did they want?"

"For me to send our army to war father, to march to Esiris and
meet the Morgantian army in battle. But I will not send our men
to a battle they can not win" the king held up his withering hand
and the prince stopped speaking immediately. A look of anger and
disappointment spread across the frail old man's face.

"My son, since you have held power over our lands you have done
nothing, nothing to enhance Palistare's friendships with our
neighboring cities and you have done nothing about the hardships
of others, you turn them away if their troubles cannot be fixed
with a small handful of gold"

"But father I have kept our lands peaceful and every day has gone
past unchanged as the day before it" He tried to explain

"Don not interrupt me boy. You may have kept things in order but
at what cost to others? Palistare is the second largest city in
all of Lardinia, and as such it is our obligation to aid those
who need our help otherwise we are merely cut off from the rest
of our world and not a part of it, which we are. Therefore it is
our duty to our people and our world to rid all of us from this
nightmare that haunts our steps"

"But father we would be sending thousands of men to their deaths"

"Son do you know why you have not inherited my throne?"

"Because you are still with us?" He said bitterly

"No" he said, "No it is because you are not yet worthy" the
prince was angry at this statement and he moved to leave the room
but his father beckoned him to sit back down. "If you are willing
to work with these people, listen to them instead of telling them
what to do, do as others wish you to do, be courageous, caring
and considerate, then and only then, when you have learned how to
listen and cooperate with others will you have earned my love and
respect, then you will be worthy" the king closed his eyes and
fell back into a deep sleep. Prince Valman on the other hand did
not sleep a wink that night, even though the sky outside was
peaceful, two halves of his mind were at war with each other; one
willing him to help these people and eager to find out if
Merdock's army could be defeated, and the other half telling him
that this was insane and that he would be sending thousands of
his men to their doom.

The next morning the Great Palace of the Elders was silhouetted
against the rising sun as Elera appeared on the south western
bank of the Ahromare River. The Palace of the Elders was home to
the five wisest beings in all of Lardinia: The first of which was
Redles, an immortal being with the strength and size of a bear
and the heart of a lion who more than made up for his lack of
knowledge with his size and strength; the second whose name was
Salmont, was the finest craftsman to have lived, he was a mighty
senator, who could hit a man with an arrow from two miles away;
Merathwart was mysterious and cunning and he had wings like an
eagle, no one knew where he came from only that he was not of
this world; Adlem was a winged elf, from an ancient forest that
had long since been destroyed by Merdock's evil, she was fabled
for her ability to disappear into thin air and reappear miles and
miles away. Finally there was Halem, Halem was a great and wise
old eagle owl, who, legend has it was present during the creation
of Lardinia itself, and is more ancient than the mountains that
tower over the lands today.

Elera strolled across the bridge connecting the palace
island to the banks of the river Ahromare, and onto the island,
the palace's great white tower loomed overhead; as she entered
through the huge silver gates they swung open to allow her
passage through. Inside everything was light and all around her
was shimmering silver and bright, Elera was met at the gates by
Redles who welcomed her to his magnificent home.

"Oh I'm sorry for intruding like this Elder Redles, but I
desperately need your help" Redles lead Elera up a huge winding
staircase that hung from the walls, spiraling up the centre of
the white tower to the very top, where they emerged into a large
round room where she was greeted by the other elders.

"I am sorry to intrude on you your majesties, but you are the
five wisest beings in all the land of Lardinia and you are the
keepers of the great library, I request that you lead me to a
section of the library that can tell me anything about the
stretch of land between Morgant and the city of Esiris" she
panted. The room was silent for a moment, and then Merathwart
spoke, he was standing, leaning upon a large open window ledge,
looking up at the skies.

"Why should we, the finest beings in this land, help an
enchantress like yourself? And who said we would any way?"

"We did" all the elders pointed out at once.

"Why do you need the information though?" Merathwart complained.

"Listen feathers, Elera has done nothing but try and fight for
freedom since evil began to walk these lands so I say we do
something other than sit around here discussing the troubles of
others as we have done for so many years, and help her in return
for what she has done for the good of Lardinia" Adlem barked at
Merathwart.

"Very well, but she still hasn't't answered my question; why do
you need the information? Merathwart pointed out.

"My friends are negotiating with Palistare to gather an army
greater than any witnessed on these lands for three hundred
years, so what I need is strategic information on the battle
ground, or anything that will give us an advantage against
Merdock"